Lachie is about 7 months and is great on his leash sometimes, and other times he's ready to pull until either his head rips off or your arm does.  Plus the lunging at other dogs etc.  I bought a Sprenger but haven't tried it yet.  I've read and watched vids about proper fit and use.

I'm waiting until he's older but I thought it would be fun for him and us to have him pull us on skis, skateboards, sleds, etc.  My question is, will the prong collar condition him to never want to pull ever?  Or will he know the difference when we put a harness on him for pulling?

Thanks,
--Jason

Jr will know the difference. Particularly if you play with a harness and have him pull stuff.

Hi Windfishin!

I've used a lot of collars, obedience training, treat training, scolding, physical force, and Echo still pulls =P. If he wants to do something or sets his mind to something he will pull to get to it. While I've never used a pronged collar, I imagine if your dog wants to pull he will. I also think it's a myth that training your dog to heel or not pull will prevent him from wanting to pull in the future. I think you can train him to pull with the harness and walk well with a collar on. =D. My dog can heel really well, but the moment I run with him he pulls forward like crazy!

However if you're worried about the pronged collar making him scared of pulling in the future, have you considered an easy walk harness? It doesn't mitigate pulling, but will cushion the extent of it. Echo is cccrrraaazzzzyyyy in the mornings on our walk to the dog park. While I used to walk at a 45 degree angle holding the leash with two arms, the easy walk has made it much better and he still pulls like crazy but at least I don't have dislocated shoulders anymore =P. I walk a lot more comfortably with it despite him still pulling.

Good luck!

Cheers!

Although I'm no expert, it sounds as though Lacie still has a lot of that puppy energy. Does he pull and lunge only at the beginning of the walk, or is it consistent throughout the entire walk? I would have to agree with the other comments and say maybe try investing in a harness for him before you resort to the prong collar. This will help disburse his weight when he's pulling so that it's less strain on his neck, and allows you to have better control.

As far as the prong collar goes, I think that would help with teaching him to not pull. Our husky knows the difference between her around town harness and her hiking harness, so I think over time Lacie would understand the difference between his prong collar, and a skijoring harness, but I don't think it would necessarily prevent him from wanting to pull... After all, it's in their blood.. For example, after we've been out running with our husky, the following walk with her on harness is usually tough at first because she wants to pull. She quickly adapts and remembers the difference between a running adventure and walking one, but there is a lot of overlap. Also, after she's been off leash somewhere, the following on leash walk involves her trying to run (again, she remembers she can't and quickly adapts). But then again all dogs are different.

I guess my point is that if you get Lacie consistently trained to not pull as much on leash/harness, there is still a very good chance that once he's exposed to the skijoring world he'll want to pull whenever he gets the chance. If you invest the time to do proper and consistent training with Lacie then there's a good chance he will adapt very quickly to the different "jobs" he's being asked to do (walking with a prong collar vs. skijoring). Best of luck, and let us know how it goes!

The best way to train your husky not to pull is to use a properly fitted (high and snug on the neck) prong collar. I personally have found success with the smaller sized prongs (you need much less force/pressure). The key is to properly condition your husky to the prong as well as neutralize him to prong to minimize awareness to this tool.

Have him start wearing the prong for at least a couple weeks before you start using it and leave it on during the day when you can watch him and take it off before he goes to sleep.

Start familiarizing yourself with proper leash pressure work. Michael Ellis and Tyler Muto have some free videos on YouTube and if you want more in-depth information, purchase their streaming videos on Leerburg. Huskies have a strong and stubborn opposition reflex, but it can be broken with consistency and clear leash communication.

At some point, when your husky knows what it is expected of him on loose-leash walking or heeling you can slowly have him wear the prong less and less and just use a flat collar. Mixing it up is important. Walk him occasionally, with the leash attached to the flat collar, while he still has the prong.

If you want him to pull, use a harness and allow him to pull you on it. Use it for motivational work such as tug work or restrained recalls or pulling you on a skateboard or whatever activity you want him to pull in.

He will eventually associate the harness for pulling, and flat collar with not pulling.

If you train well, and use commands both while walking and joring (pulling), you shouldn't have a problem. Dog's are very intelligent creatures.
I would suggest making sure you don't share anything between the two activities.
If you have a different collar/harness for each activity, the dog will know just by sight what activity is planned and how to behave. Even use different snacks.

Thanks all! I've tried out the prong collar once and so far I am a fan. Lachlan (pronounced Lock-lun) mostly pulls when he sees or smells another dog and lunges at other dogs because he wants to play.

I never had to do any pull corrections, there were just a few times when he lunged away and it pinched him and he let me know he felt it with a little yelp.

Windfishin wrote:

Thanks all! I've tried out the prong collar once and so far I am a fan.  Lachlan (pronounced Lock-lun) mostly pulls when he sees or smells another dog and lunges at other dogs because he wants to play.

I never had to do any pull corrections, there were just a few times when he lunged away and it pinched him and he let me know he felt it with a little yelp.  

I, too, am a huge fan of the prong collar. Ami is now back on prong after he and Z'ev tried to kill me...running after something and dragging me in the dirt.